I am really lucky in the fact that I get to make things and use the creative part of my brain everyday. But every now and then, I get the urge to do something that is considered a little more "fine arty". After all, that is more in line with what I have been trained to do. I miss having the time to just creatively play without a care as to whether an idea is going to work out. I do design things for klt:works much in that fashion, but for right now, I am working on ideas that have been pretty much solidified... there is not a lot of mystery about my day to day process.
Admittedly, I have been feeling a bit burned out lately and I needed a little artistic recharging. The camera has been really great for this. I find it is just what I need right now to get me thinking about other interests. A little background to my week: my mom takes care of Sayer 3 days a week so that I can work. During this time I scoot and get as much done as I can- it is a multitasking frenzy. Well, my parents are now on vacation and on the last day my mom took care of Sayer last week, I gave myself 1.5 hours to play. I knew it was one of the only times I would have to do it and I had an idea in mind. I wanted to play with an untraditional series of self portraits - partly because over the years, I have started to hide from the camera. Both literally and figuratively, I wanted to do this by way of reflection. Because this is a sketchbook, I thought I would share a little of the process.
At the base of the stairwell leading to my studio, there is a cluster of mirrors. I was noticing how cool it was that I could see different parts of my body in different mirrors. I started taking photos of it and found after the fact, that I liked the ambiguous, and dreamlike quality in each mirror. I started cropping them down as their own single image (which is what is pictured in the collages). The look I was after was of an old piece of film, found in the attic... all scratched and worn- sort of like an old silent film. I think the coolest thing about all of it, is that it completely held my attention and the 1.5 hours flew by in a wink on an eye.
Before I finished, I went outside and took a few photos in the window of our shed. There is thick, black plastic behind the window so I got some cool rippling in the image. After playing a bit, I got this picture of me behind the camera that I sort of like. I think all of the images that were taken, have a painterly quality about them, which is what appeals to me. The coolest part of this little experiment however, is that it did rejuvenate me and it made me realize that I need to do something like this much more often. What do you do to recharge?
Such a cool and beautiful "experiment". I guess as adults we forget how to "loose ourselves" and when we take the time to do it, we wonder why we don't do it more often!
ReplyDeleteOh Kristin, I was a bit sad reading that you only gave yourself 1.5 hours to do this! I wish for you it had been longer. 1.5 hours is such a tease! But then, I know how it is to be a working person and a full time mom. There is so little time left! I love these shots. I've also begun fiddling around with actions. They are so much fun! My only creative outlet is my blog and my camera. But I'm hoping to get something started soon. I'm torn between wanting to do something creative for me and just giving all the rest of my time at home to my girl. Dilemma! Kristen, next time you get the chance, give yourself more than 1.5hrs. Give yourself the day! You're so talented!
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool! Love the photos you took! I hope we'll see more and more! I love your compositions!
ReplyDelete(and - nice shoes too!)